Lens-grinding machine.



' Ll WILHELM.

LENS GRINDING MAGHINE. APPLIUATION FILED JANzo, 190s.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

IIT- E ,1f/1,111,111,141,

0V l W zen of the United States, residing .UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTCELOUlS WlLllllLM., O'r \\'ORCES1`1QR, h'liiSSACl-IUSETTS, ASSTGNO'R TOGLOBE OPTICAL CO., OF BOSTON, MASSAGE USllTTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

LENS-GRINDIN MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

Application filed January 20, 1998. Serial Nal/111,562.

To all whom it muy concern:

ie it known that l, LOUIS lVILiisnM, a citiat Worcester. in the countyof lVorcc-ster and State of hilassachusetts. have invented a new anduseful Lens-GrindinO Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a grinding niachine for shaping lenses forspectacles and eye-glasses, and for similar purposes.

The principal objects of the invention are vto provide a machine of thischaracter with means whereby they shafts, and operating parts forsupporting the work will be protected from the dirt, mud, etc., which isthrown about in the use of machines of this character; also to providemeans whereby when the former is covered with inudtand dirt, and thusobscured, the position thereof will be apparent to the eye so that itwill nothe necessary to clean it every time itis desired to4 inspect it;also to provide iinproved means for supporting the two worksupport'ingshafts; to provide an improved arrangeinent for regulating the positionof the work withfrespect to the grinding stone; and to provide anadditional tension device for causing the work to bear harder on thestone when the thick edges are being ground than when the thin ones arepresented to the stone.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which show oneembodiment of the invention, and in whichG Figure lis a plan thereofwith parts in section. Fig. 2, is an elevation of aport-ion of one partof same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3- 3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4t is an end elevation, and Fig. 5 is a plan of anenlarged' scale showing certain details of construction and illustratinghow the work supported in the machine.

The invention is shown as comprising a.

base-plate 10 provided with bosses 11 havinghearings for a. shaft 1Q.This shaft is pi'ovided with a gear 13 through which the device isdriven in any desired way. It is also provided with a pair of pinions 14meshing with gears 1501i a pair of work-supporting .shafts 1G and 17 fordriving the latter. The

shafts 1G and 17 are ,adapted to swing about the shaft 12.' beingsupported therefrom by .a frame which constitutes a casing for thesethree shafts and is shown as made up of a cylindrical portion 18 and twocylindrical portions 19 and 20. The latter two cylindrical portions areconnected with the cylindrical portion 18 by integral cross pieces orstruts 2l. On account of having theshafts housed in this casing or framethe shafts .are protected from the accumulation of dirt and quently. Theportion 18 is simply hollow to permit the shaft 12 to pass through it, yand it is provided with bearings at its ends whereby the whole frame canswing on this shaft.' The casing 20 is similarly constructed, one of thebearings Q2 being shown in Fig. 5. A ball retainer 220 is shown with a.cone 921 having` a curved 'conical surface of suoli a slant that whenthe shaft is pushed to the left by the other shaft` as it is when inoperation, the bearing balls will he forced Aoutwardly, and will hohlthe shaft firmly against vibration. At the end of the cone 221 are apair of fcltwashers 222 to keep the bearing free from dust, etc. onwhichbears a plate fixed to a sleeve 224 which is lixed to the shaft 17 by apin 225.

is removable and on the shaft 1G in this casing` is a ball hearing nearthe bearing or'col- .lar Q4. Near the other end is a felt washer 2522held in place by a plate A spring is located inthe casing on the shaft16 between the ball bearing and a pin 26 and tends to force the shaft 1Gtoward the shaft 17. ln order to provide for moving the shaft lo back inorder to place the work a in the jaws 27 or remove it therefrom, thecas- -ing 19 is provided with lugs QS having bearings for a sliding` rod2S), which is operated by a lever 30 and engages the gear 15. Theoperation of this lever will move the gear 15 hack, and this will movethe shaft 16. vBoth 'of the gears l5 are protected from mud and dirt bymeans of guardll located at the ends of the casings 19 and 20.

The tilting frame is provided with the usual tension device 3Q, and inaddition thereto a separate adjustable tension device is provided forthe purpose of varying the pressure of the work against the grindingstone one or more times duringa coni'plete revolution. This is desirablein grinding convex glasses, because in thatcase the edges being groundat two sides are thicker than The casing 19 is provided with bearings orcollars 253 and 241- near its ends, one of which unid and do not have tohe cleaned frethose at the other two sides. ln order to accomplish this,the shaft l? is provided with an attachment on its end which isconnected to a tension device shown in the forni of a lever havingnotches 37 thereon connected with a chain 38 and spring 39 of anydesired form. The attachment is preferably elliptical in form, and isfixed to the end of the shaft by a screw 40 usually' in a position withits axis at right angles to the long axis of the former itl, it beingunderstood that it is ordinarily used when an elliptical former is used.Viheii arranged in this way it will be seen that when the short axis ofthe former is toward the stone and the short aXis of the lens is againstit, the long axis of the attachment is working on the lever 36 andincreasing the tension so that a deeper cut will be taken at this time.v'lhis is especially desirable with convex lenses, as stated, becausethey will stand a deepei` out when the stone is operating on the thickerportions thereof. The chain 38 may be adjusted in any of the notches 3Tfor an obvious purpose.

It has been stated above that the shafts l2, 16 and 17, as Well as thegears i5 are protected from the dirt and mud. In order to carry out thisidea with respect to the former il without providing a guard over it,which would be impracticable because it is necessary to see the positionof this former, I have provided it with a plate 42 of sub stantially thesame size and shape as the former, integrally mounted thereon, spacedtherefrom and parallel therewith. This plate is shown as located betweenthe former and :the lens which is being ground. The purpose of thisplate is to enable the operator to see exactly the angular positionofthe former Without removing the mud and dirt which collects upon it.The'foi'n er is held in position on the shaft by the pin 225 enteringslots therein.

In order to simplify and improve the adjusting means for the former., itis shown as made in the following way. Below the baseplate are 1brackets50 at the bottom ofjwh ich a lever is pivoted having an upwardlyextending arm 5l and a forwardly extending arm 52. On the upwardlyextending. arm the lever is provided with an elongated depression inwhich the edge of the former Works. On the top' of the base-plate abovethe forward end of the arm is a dial 54 and a pointer 55; This pointeris provided with a screw 56 passing through the base` plate andcontrolling the position of the end of the arm 52. VIt is preferred toprovide an adjusting screw 57 engaging the end of the screw 56 andmounted on the arm 52. By this construction it will oe seen thattheturning of the pointer 55 by means of its handle 58 will adjust the endof the lever 52 and the guide 53 for the former 4l. lt is undereinemthat case. It is to provide for this that the 1 lever is pivoted welldown below the bottom of the case plate as indicated in Fig. 3. Onaccount of this construction, the guide while having a swinging motionon the arc of a large circle operates almost in a straight path and theslight curve that it has is not sufficient to cause anyappreciableirregnlar ity in the grinding of the lenses, therefore, the pivoting ofthe lever at a point well below the base-plate and shaft. 12in animportant feature.

lll'hile l have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment Vofvthe invention, l am aware that many modiiications may be made thereinby any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention expressed in the claims. Therefore, l do not wish to belimited'to the particular details of construction shown, but@ lll'hat Iclaim is :W

l. ln a lens grinding machine, the combination of a base-plate, a framepivoted thereA on, work holding shafts carried by said frame above thebase plate, a former supported by said shafts, a lever pivoted below thebase-plate and having two arms both extending upwardly therefrom, onearm thereof engaging the former, and the other arm extending under thehase-plate, and means on the base-plate for adjusting the latter arm.

ln a lens grinding machine, the combination of a base-plate,work-supporting shafts arranged above said base-plate, a lever pivotedat a distance below said base-plate and having an upwardly extending armand ,a forward'upwardly extending arm, means `on the first named arm forcontrolling the position of the work supporting shafts, and

means on the top of the baseplate in front of said shafts and extendingdown through said base-plate, for adjusting the height of the for'wardlyextending arm.

3. ln a lens grinding` machine, the combination of a base plate, worksupporting shafts arranged above said base-plate, a lever pivoted at adistance below said base-plate and having an upwardly extending armprojecting above'the hase-plate from behind and a forwardly extendingarm under the baseplate, means onthe upwardly extending arm forcontrolling the position of the work-snp porting shafts, andmeans on thetop of the .baseplate in front of said shafts for adjust- -ing theheight of the forwardly extending arm, said means comprising a dial on.the top of the base-plate, a pointer thereon, a screw alanis passingthrough the dial and base-plate and tired to the pointer, and means foradjustably connecting the end of the arin with said screw.

il. n lens grinding machine comprising work supporting shafts adapted tosupport a former for the work, and a lever having in the upper endthereof, a depression in its operative surface for receiving the former,the walls of said depression serving as guides for the level'. t

In a machine of the character described, the combination of two workshafts, a former, and a similar shaped guide-plate parallel with theformer held between the adjacent ends of said shafts. i I

6. In a lens grinding machine, the combination of a pivoted frame,work-supporting shafts carried thereby and adapted to support a formerfor the work, a lever pivoted vat a distance below'l the pivot of saidframe and extending upto said shafts, the u'ppe'i end of saidlever'having an elongated depression. therein `for receiving the former,and meansfor adjust-ing said lever, a'former removably supported by.saidshafts and a plate fixed. to said former spaced therefrom and parallelwith it, said plate being of'substantially the same sizer and shape" asIthe former. Y

'7. A former for a lens grinding' machine having integrally mountedrthereon.` and parallel therewith aplate spaced from the former and ofsubstantially the same'size and shape as the former. Q y I S. In a lensgrindingpiachine, Ithe combination of a pair of work liolding shafts, aframe for supporting said )vork 'holding shafts comprising alf pair of-l'iol/low ,cylinli-ical portions surrounding said shafts, bearings forsaid shafts, and two sets' of perforated felt disks on said -shafts atthe ends of said bearings to protect the same from dust and dirt. I

il. In a lens grinding machine, the`conibi nation of a work-shaft, aball retainer, a ball cone on the shaft havinga -slanting conicalsurface, a casing against which motion of the shaft endwise in onedirection will push the balls outwardly to piment vibration, a

second work shaft toward which the larger Vend of said conical surfaceextends, and

means forfyieldingly forcing it toward the Y first named work shaft.

10. In a lens grinding machine, thev coinbination'bf a driving shaft,work-supporting porting sha fts and protecting them from dirt and thelike, and means for connecting the last two casings with the first one,whereby said casings constitute a rigid frame for supporting andprotecting said shafts, one of said work-supporting shafts having twoco1- lars thereon within its casing, a spring located within the casingbetween said collars, and'means on the shaft for receiving the thrust ofoneV end of the spring.

11. In a lens grinding machine, the combination of a longitudinallymovable workholding shaft, a spring for normally moving' the shaft inonedirection, a gear fixed to said shaft, a slide rod engaging theflange of said gear, and means for'reciprocating said rod to move thegear and shaft.

12. Ina 'lens grinding machine, the conibination of a movable workholding shaft, a casing surrounding the shaft, a sprin sur rounding thesha t and located insi e the casing, for forcing the shaft in onedirection, a gear on said shaft for driving it, lugs on said casinghaving bearings, a rod slidable in said bearingsvand adapted to engagesaid gear, and a lever for 'sliding said rod so as to move'the gea-r andshaft against the resistance of said spring.

13. In a lens grinding machine, the coinbination of a longitudinallymovable workholding shaft, a casing inc-losing said shaft, a springwithin the casin for resisting motion of the shaft in one irection, asliding rod journaled on the outside of the casing, a gear fixed to theshaft against which the rod engages, and means for reciprocating saidrod. to move the gear and shaft.

14. In a lens grinding machine, the combination of a tilting frame,work-supporting shafts jonrnaled thereon, a former carried by one ofsaid shafts, a tension device for holding said frame in position forgrinding, and a second tension device for varyingthe tension during arotation.

15. A lens grinding machine comprising a bodily movable shaft, a former,and means independent of the former for putting said shaft under atension of varying intensity during different portions of a singlerevolution.

16. In a lens grinding machine, the coinbinati'on. of a shaft, a formersupported thereby, yielding means for holding the shaft in grindingposition, and additional means for providing a varying tension duringdifferent portions of a revolution.

17 In a lens grinding machine, the conm bination ,oa shaft; a formercarried thereby, a tensi n device, and a second tension ydevice adaptedto increase the tension when the former is at such position during arevo; lution as to bring the thick edges of the lens in contact with a'vgrinding stone.

18. In a lens grinding machine, .the combination of a shaft, aformercarried thereby, an attachment on the shaft adapted to be set atright angles to the former, and a tension device; acting-on saidattachment for controIling the tension.

' bination of a shaft ad apted to supporJ a former thereon, an.elliptical attachment on said Shaft, a lever bearing on said elliptical5 attachment throughout the revolution of the shaft, and ar tensiondevice connected with the leyfer.

In testimony whereof have liereu'no set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

LOUIS WILHELM. l

Witnesses R. E. FAY, C. 'FORREST WEssoN.

